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Charlotte Hornets Offseason: Round Table Discussion

By Jerry Stephens

Apr 3, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams (2), guard Courtney Lee (1) and guard Kemba Walker (15) celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Marvin Williams (2), guard Courtney Lee (1) and guard Kemba Walker (15) celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 29, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; A view of “Enter The Swarm” t-shirts of the Charlotte Hornets before game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; A view of “Enter The Swarm” t-shirts of the Charlotte Hornets before game six of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Will the Charlotte Hornets return to the playoffs?

Deshawn White: We’ll get to the playoffs, but we need to stay healthy and guys like Jeremy Lamb, Marco Bellinelli and Frank Kaminsky need to show improvement. But it is possible. We basically got two draft picks in having MKG back and signing Christian Wood, but we’ll see.

Max Teddy: Of course! Much of the Eastern Conference either stayed the same or improved, and the Hornets did enough to at least keep pace with where they were last season. I don’t think Miami and Atlanta will be as annoyingly difficult to beat this season, seeing as Jeff Teague, Al Horford, and Dwayne Wade are now elsewhere. However, we need to watch out for Boston and New York, two teams that made big moves this season to improve. I project a fourth or fifth seed for Charlotte this year, but this is the NBA. Who knows where we’ll be in April?

Luke Spencer: The Hornets have done enough this offseason to stay the course if not be a little bit better. If all the players (especially MKG) can stay healthy this can be a 47-54 win team. This is a squad of solid basketball players who can shoot the three well and play consistently good defense. The Hornets already have a very solid starting line-up of Kemba, Batum, MKG, Williams and Zeller.

With a backcourt of Sessions, Belinelli, Lamb, Kaminsky and Hibbert, the Hornets should absolutely compete in the Eastern Conference. The current sentiment is that the EC has improved tremendously but I believe that the splashy signings are a bit overrated. The only two teams that have truly improved to a higher level in the conference to me are the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.

If (big IF) the Knicks can stay healthy, realistically they could be competitive, but expect a drop-off for our divisional rivals in the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. I believe the Hornets are a top 3-5 team in the conference. Even without MKG for most of the year last season, they were still a crafty team with quality wins and tied for 3rd in the conference. I don’t foresee much of a drop-off under the coaching of Steve Clifford.

Laieke Abebe: The Cavaliers are the defending champions and it seems like no one can beat them right now. The Celtics and Knicks improved a lot from last season with their acquisitions along with the Pacers. Our division rivals, the Heat and Hawks lost a lot in Dwyane Wade and Al Horford and could drop a little bit this season. The Pistons will be pretty good again and got some really underrated signings and draft picks. The Raptors will still be really good next season. The Magic look like they’ve improved a lot this offseason. Overall, this year will be interesting in the Eastern Conference, but I expect the Hornets to be competing with the best of the East and make the playoffs next season. They could possibly be a middle of the pack playoff team next season.

Next: Marco Belinelli's Fit With the Hornets

Jerry Stephens: I think that they will. I could see another 45+ win season next season for the Charlotte Hornets. (Crazy to say that right?) Expectations are high on the team and they will not only need to make the playoffs, but win a series for it to be a successful season. Next year will surely test the organization but they should easily be able to compete for a top-six playoff seed. The true challenge will be making it out of the first round.

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